My Lady Peophin
by Gleechumber
Summary: On one of the biggest days in the Neopian calendar, a lovesick Uni looks back over a disastrous romance...


My Lady Peophin  
  
Dozens of little Kikos gathered in rows, bobbing up and down in the water. Jetsams glared around at everyone else, and at each other, ready to compete far more seriously and ferociously than the other creatures. Tuskaninnys and Flotsams danced in and out of the water's edge, playing whilst they waited. A couple of the braver Kikos joined in with the older, bigger pets, but mostly each breed kept well to themselves. The Peophins, graceful and beautiful, groomed their long mains in preparation, murmuring quietly to each other as they did so.  
  
It was the watersports section of the Neopian Sports Day. Those who weren't water pets, and had completed their own races, turned up to watch. Chias and Moehogs ran and played through the long grass, killing time before the races began. The intelligent Lennies discussed who they thought were the favourites to win. Usuls sat in trees to get a better view. All of the other Unis champed the grass, gossiping and munching. But I didn't join them. I had nothing to add to their conversation- nothing of value, anyway. Besides, I hadn't even competed in this year's Uni race. Sports just weren't my thing. I had turned up for quite a different reason.  
  
As I looked around, I saw so many excited faces. There were even little races for the Petpets to compete in, if their owners allowed them to. I saw a little Baby Blu playing with a Green Walein, both of them completely over-enthusiastic. It was kind of cute. A mother Zafara with her toddler arrived, and they set up a blanket to lie on in the sunshine. The younger one had a Fir toddling around his feet, and he tightly gripped it's leash.   
  
"When are they gonna start, momma?" The little Zafara asked, bobbing around excitedly.   
  
"Soon, dear, soon." His mother reassured him, and they started to nibble on some of the Coconut Tonu Cakes that they had packed in the picnic basket. As I watched, I saw the little Zafara wash it down with some Cheops Juice. I wasn't being nosy. I was just interested in the inhabitants of Neopia and what they did. All the little details I saw each day were jotted down inside my large memory, and one day I would write a book. That wasn't my ultimate dream, though- my ultimate dream was to be editor of the Neopian Times, but I wasn't so naïve as to think that would really happen one day.  
  
A flock of Pteri's overhead screeched, flying dangerously low to the ground and making everyone jump, including me. Looking harder, I saw that three of them were the brothers- they were notoriously mean, and were showing off because they had all done well in their races. They didn't like to be ignored. That was just something which never happened.  
  
I turned my attention back to the water again, where a Koi was setting up a microphone stand on a large rock, and tapping it with one fin, testing to make sure it worked. It did. My heart did little leaps, and I scrambled as close to the water's edge as I could, fighting my way through all the crowds as I did so. She had arrived! A stir rose up, as the Koi beside the microphone spoke.  
  
"Neopet ladies, and Neopet gentleman! Welcome to everyone's favourite section of the Neopian Sports Day: the water sport section." A cheer rose up, and the Koi raised both of his fins to shush the crowd before continuing. "Here she is, folks, the one you've all been waiting for. She's come all the way from the heart of Maraqua to bring to you this special song- starting the show for us today, it's Lady Patricia Peophin!" I could see very well past the heads of those in front of me. Being a tall Uni certainly had it's advantages sometimes. I watched, barely breathing, as Lady Patricia took the stand, clearing her throat a little before she began to sing. Her striped body, still dripping with water, shone in the sun, and the light breeze rustled through her dusky-pink flowing mane. I could hardly believe it was really her. She opened her mouth, about to sing, when she saw me from the corner of her eye. And she stopped dead, staring. She was still beautiful, even after the Lab Ray had turned her from a Uni, like me, into a Peophin. Maybe she was even more beautiful now that she was a creature of the sea.  
  
It seemed like such a long time since I had laid eyes on her, though it had only been a few weeks. In that short time, she had shot to fame with her singing voice. Nobody takes a Uni seriously when she dreams of being a star, but a Peophin however, now that's different. Peophins carry an air of mystery about them, and my Patricia was not an exception to this rule.  
  
As she turned away, giving me a sly wink, I gently closed my eyes to picture what she used to look like. It wasn't hard. It was an image I saw almost every night in my dreams, and every day upon waking again. We had been in love. She was a pretty pink Peophin, my sweetheart, until her owner had decided to use the Lab Ray on her. She begged her cruel master not to, but he didn't want some fancy pink thing. Really, he wanted a Grarrl, something that could fight and win every single time. But she had merely changed colour, from pink into Christmas, a change which I actually found did her some justice. Her seasonal mane of red and green had suited her wonderfully, even she thought so. Then the Ray struck again, this time turning her into a Peophin. That was the last straw for her owner, and he was about to send her off to the Neopian Pound, when he was met with an offer from a Koi high up in the music business, and he accepted straight away, taking all of the profits for himself, and treating Patricia as badly as he had always done. Patricia and I spent one last night together, her as a Peophin, and I, a Uni. She told me that although she loved me dearly, she couldn't be with me. We were just too different now. I pleaded with her, but she sadly shook her head, telling me it was the way it had to be. Then she turned towards the water, and swam away. I ran a few steps in, but I couldn't swim, and she had already disappeared from my sight. That was the last I saw of her until I learned that she had been picked to perform the opening song on sports day.  
  
Coming back to reality again, I opened my eyes. Her song was already over. And where was I? Watching once again, as my Lady Peophin left me. With a wave of her tail, she dived into the water, the splash almost as elegant as she. Sadly, I turned and trotted slowly back up the hill towards home. 


End file.
